Watch Adam craft, from start to finish, a stylized box to carry and display his Blade Runner Blaster prop replica. The entire project took less than one day to complete--sheets of wood is transformed into something awesome right before your eyes. Adam narrates the build with commentary about his design and construction methods.
Adam Savage shows us how to paint and weather a newly constructed box to make it look like it's something that's been used for decades. In weathering a prop, Adam lets the object reveal its story though dings, scuffs, stickers, and stains. Just wait until you see his secret weathering trick.
Adam geeks out over a new Japanese model kit of a walking biped machine based on artist Theo Jansen's Strandbeest creations. In building the kit, Adam explains his organization skills and the challenge of deciphering building instructions in a language he can't read.
Adam has constructed a Blade Runner pistol and Indiana Jones' revolver, but not Han Solo's blaster from Star Wars A New Hope. Fortunately, the makers at the Replica Prop Forum have thoroughly researched the details of this prop and have faithfully recreated the components needed to build it. Adam and Norm run through the blaster's signature details and then work together to assemble this iconic space gun.
One Day Builds return! This week, Adam constructs a traveling case for Winston, a dashing beaver that's also the official mascot of The Talking Room. Winston's box needs to be a very specific size to fit in airplane overhead bins, so a little taxidermy surgery is required. Winston goes under the knife!
Adam and Norm spend the afternoon geeking out over awesome wooden swords bought at last year's Dragon*Con and then decide to make some modifications to personalize them. This gives Adam a chance to talk about some of his favorite prop-making tools and tricks.
One of Adam's everyday carries is his favorite multi-tool, the Leatherman Wave. But the leather sheath that comes with the tool is too slow and cumbersome for Adam's needs, so today he makes a custom metal holster based on his own design. In the process, Adam shares several tips for metalworking and introduces a few favorite tools in the Cave's new metal shop.
It's time for another One Day Build! You know the drill: Adam tackles a project at his shop from start to finish, explaining his build process along the way. Today's build is a replica of Jane Fonda's iconic Barbarella rifle.
In this episode of One Day Builds, Adam spends a day at the shop assembling and painting a beautiful 1/6th scale garage kit, based on the fantastical characters of artist Derek Stenning. Adam and Norm each work on their own kit, and Adam teaches us some painting and weathering techniques to bring out the intricate details on this sci-fi cosmonaut figure.
In this week's episode of One Day Builds, Adam is joined in the shop by special guest Aaron Douglas--Battlestar Galactica's Chief Tyrol! While chatting about the show and sharing convention stories, Adam and Aaron work together to assemble and paint several BSG model kits. Who better to help build Cylons than the Chief himself!
We're in for a treat today--Adam shares the story of his Star Trek Captain's Chair, which he became obsessed with building from scratch after acquiring an insufficient replica. With the help of friend Jeremy Williams, Adam spends a day wiring in the electronics to bring his new Enterprise command chair to life. After much problem solving and troubleshooting, the effort pays off in a big way!
Adam Savage is a HUGE fan of puppets. And so a very special One Day Build was conceived when Rick Lyon, creator of the puppets for the Tony award-winning musical Avenue Q, invited Adam to stop by his Newark workshop to design and build his very own puppet. Everyone, please meet Finn!
For this week's One Day Build, Adam designs and fabricates an accessory for his new car to make rides more comfortable for his two dogs! Making this doggy car seat is going to require sewing, which lets Adam utilize the cave's new sewing station. Awesome!
In this One Day Build, Adam celebrates one of his favorite comic book characters by bringing a piece of Hellboy's demon-slaying arsenal to life. With a Samaritan pistol already in his collection, Adam takes on the task of building a comic-book-worthy broadsword, complete with charred demon skewered at the tip!
This mini-build is actually a pre-build of sorts. In preparation for an upcoming One Day Build, Adam spends a little time in the morning building a new plywood box to organize his mill file collection. The files are taken out of drawers and put in a new system for first-order retrievability. It's time to file the files!
Here's a first for Adam: a One Day Build of a custom LEGO set! After spotting Jason Allemann's beautiful automata design, Adam sourced a complete kit to built at the cave. The finished piece comes alive as an animated diorama of the Greek legend!
Today's One Day Build is a homecoming for Adam, in a few ways. Using only one type of material and one cutting tool, Adam builds an architectural scale model of the house he grew up in. It's a walk down memory lane, and a return to modelmaking basics!
For this week's One Day Build, Adam digs up a garage kit that he's been looking forward to putting together for a while: a bolt from The Iron Giant! We get to assembling the electronics of the kit, and then Adam and Norm each take different approaches for the painting and finishing.
Sewing is the focus of this week's One Day Build, as Adam works on a piece of his in-progress Kylo Ren cosplay by making the costume's gorget. Adam talks about finding the reference and design for this leather neck piece, demonstrates patterning, and gets to work at his sewing station!
For this One Day Build, Adam Savage builds the head for his grizzly bear costume from Comic-Con 2016! Adam explains how he sketched out the design for the character, how he experimented with its forms, and how the suit comes together. But the head is the most important part!
Here's how Adam Savage built his amazing Totoro cosplay that he wore at New York Comic Con! In this One Day Build, Adam shows us how he designed the costume to be lightweight and collapsible, how he formed Totoro's iconic shape, and the little details that brought the huggable character to life!
Adam dons his replica Apollo-era spacesuit, made by replica spacesuit builder Ryan Nagata. As part of their ongoing collaboration, today's One Day Build entails milling parts for the spacesuit, including a radiation dosimeter and aluminum knobs. But all doesn't go right as Adam has to overcome a maker's slump.
This One Day Build is a special one: Adam assembles a pedal-powered Strandbeest of his own design as an Artist in Residence at the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco. The outdoor build was open for public view, and Adam has to test and problem-solve the build on site with a mobile workshop deployed from his Land Cruiser!
In anticipation of their Brain Candy live show tour, Adam invites Vsauce--Michael Stevens--to the cave for a special One Day Build. While the two chat about science, curiosity, and duct tape, Adam makes modifications to Michael's glasses to hide a stage microphone inside!
One Day Build time! Using some materials left from a previous ping pong-related builds, Adam makes a ping pong machine gun that he's wanted to make since he was a teenager. And this rapid-fire prop will be used in Adam and Michael Steven's touring show Brain Candy Live!
In 2016, Adam took part in Imgur's secret Santa gift exchange, surprising a fan with a custom modded and painted Nerf rifle! For today's One Day Build, Adam shows how he took the Nerf toy apart and put it back together with his functional and aesthetic improvements.
Time for some Star Wars prop building--Adam Savage makes an upgrade to one of his favorite costumes! Adam's never been satisfied with the original bandolier strap and satchel he made for his Chewbacca cosplay, so today he fabricates new ones from scratch with metal and leather. And of course Adam hides an easter egg into this Wookiee prop!
It's no secret that Adam's a big fan of Chewbacca. So for his newest cosplay build, Adam revamps his Chewie costume to carry an animatronic threepio, as depicted in The Empire Strikes Back. It's going to require a bit of disassembly, engineering, and problem-solving to turn two costumes into one that's still wearable!
Adam welcomes the amazing Laura Kampf to his shop for a special collaboration build! Laura has an idea for a custom tape dispenser design, and works with Adam to prototype, problem solve, and put together a set for their respective shops.
Using the skills he learned from Weta Workshop's master swordsmith Peter Lyon, Adam takes on a One Day Build project he's been waiting to do his entire life: make King Arthur's sword from Excalibur!
Let's flash back to a build that was part of Adam's preparation for this year's Comic-Con! For his King Arthur armor cosplay, Adam needed a foam sword that would be suitable for the convention floor. He turned to the LARP community to find a prop, and today's build is making that sword look better with different techniques for metallic finishing. To the airbrush!
For today's One Day Build, we've partnered with DEWALT® to use their FLEXVOLT® tools to give Adam's cave an upgrade. In fact, Adam is showing a part of his shop that we've never shown before: the bathroom! Adam revamps this corner of curiosities to make better use of its space, doing the build in situ!
This One Day Build is a prop replica from one of Adam's favorite films of 2017, Blade Runner 2049! In making Deckard's binoculars from the movie, Adam starts with a 3D-printed model designed around working optics, and adds plenty of his own customized parts for accuracy!
This week's One Day Build is a collaboration with new Tested contributor Bill Doran, aka Punished Props! Bill visits Adam's workshop to help make a replica of Adam's Ringwraith Gauntlets using thin sheets of foam, showing the versatility and accessibility of this popular cosplay material!
While working on a recent prop project, Adam realizes that he needed better lighting for his workshop bench, and embarks on building a custom light rig for illuminating his builds. Using off-the-shelf parts like an affordable LED light panel, Adam wires up this versatile bench lamp that can be positioned precisely where he needs it!
Adam puts together a beautiful Blade Runner-inspired snub-nosed blaster kit! Both Norm and Adam both work on their kits, each taking a different approach to the paint and finish. Adam goes one step further by adding machined metal parts to his blaster, giving it a brilliant look and some real heft. The blasters turned out amazing!
Adam picks up a NERF Rival Nemesis blaster, and upgrades it with a custom magazine to hold a THOUSAND soft plastic NERF balls. Watch as Adam builds the new magazine from scratch, uses kit-bashing to detail the blaster, and adds more upgrades like the bi-pod and laser. And to test this massive rig, Adam sets his sights on some prehistoric prey! Life finds a way!
Adam's latest one day build is a very personal project: making a custom version of his new EDC TWO bag using the patterns he's putting out into the world. Marcos from Mafia bags stops by to guide Adam through some of the intricacies of sewing sailcloth and giving the bag a distinct look!
Adam Savage is obsessed with spacesuits, and his latest costume build for this year's Comic-Con incognito walk is a replica of the very first spacesuit made for famed aviator Wiley Post in 1935. Adam's also excited to experiment with Worbla in this build for the helmet, and make heavy use of his sewing machine for this striking suit!
Inspired by the custom robots he saw at Weta Workshop, Adam's latest build is his own kit-bashed take on a tabletop robot using spare robot parts from the GKR board game!
The amazing Laura Kampf visits Adam's workshop for a One Day Build collaboration! Their plan: design and build an overengineered bottle opener that can slam the cap off of a standard glass soda bottle. After much trial and error, behold the Kampf bottle opener!
Adam goes back to his roots as a spaceship modelmaker in this week's build, using scratch-building and kit-bashing to make a scale model inspired by a piece of art by the legendary Jean "Moebius" Giraud. Along the way, Adam shares many tips for working with styrene to give miniatures detail that really shines on screen.
When Eric Idle of Monty Python and Spamalot fame Tweeted asking for help in adapting his "little padded case" for his Danny Ferrington travel guitar, Adam Savage immediately raised his hand. After flying to LA to meet with Eric and fetch the case, Adam returned to San Francisco and started his build. Seven frantic working hours later, a solid case was born.
Adam has just returned from New Zealand, where he met with some of the prop makers for the upcoming film Mortal Engines. Using their designs, Adam makes a replica of the character Anna Fang's striking sidearm, showing paint and weathering techniques to make this piece look at home in the movie's striking world!
Adam puts together the very complex and intricate assembly of 3D printed and machined parts for his NASA ACES spacesuit helmet replica. This helmet includes contributions from multiple makers, including The Broken Nerd, Punished Props, and Shawn Thorsson. And as is sometimes the case with a One Day Build, this build isn't without its complications.
Adam takes us through another spaceship model build, this time utilizing his trusty vacuum former, sheet styrene, and years of experience from his special effects modelmaking days. As the spaceship takes shape, Adam introduces several new tools and tips for this kind of modelmaking, and shows the versatility of this kind of build.
On a trip to New Zealand, Adam Savage stopped by Weta Workshop to meet Peter Lyon, Weta's Master Swordsmith. Spending a day with Peter, Adam learns how the armorist designed and created the swords for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, and learns swordmaking to fabricate his own Strider-inspried blade!
After testing his new suit of titanium armor built on Savage Builds, Adam brings it back to the cave to repair it to a display-worthy state and build a proper mannequin stand for it!
Adam's latest build is a special treat: he's been tasked with making the hero prop for the new TV show Year of the Rabbit! For this Victorian-era procedural comedy, Adam is making the police truncheon for Matt Berry's Detective Inspector Rabbit character. It's also a build that has Adam experimenting with new processes like acid etching!
Adam has a fondness for museum displays--the thoughtful and often meticulous ways in which objects are mounted and presented for view in custom cases, bell jars, and boxes. This week's build is a new shadow box display for a piece of memorabilia Adam received from his recent visit to the historic Radio City Music Hall.
Just in time for the 50th annivesary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Adam speed builds the beautiful LEGO lunar lander set that was developed in cooperation with NASA! From moon craters to laser reflector panels, Adam is super impressed by the detail infused in this model. Now a question which shelf does it belong on: with space stuff or LEGO builds?
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Adam Savage and the Smithsonian Institution collaborated on Project Egress, a plan to create a LIFE-SIZE replica of the Apollo 11 command module hatch! The build entailed hours of planning, scanning and organizing the 40-plus artists who would contribute parts, and it all culminated on July 18, 2019, when Adam and a team of makers assembled the hatch LIVE at the National Air and Space Museum!
Adam's latest prop build is a replica of Star-Lord's Walkman from Guardians of the Galaxy! This is a styrene scratch build using some of Adam's favorite modelmaking materials and techniques. And a few firsts for a One Day Build--the use of a vinyl cutter for the logos, as well as a minor injury mid-build!
Adam is joined by fabricator Kayte Sabicer for the build of his Star-Lord cosplay! Leading up to Silicon Valley Comic Con, Adam and Kayte tackle the various parts of the costume, from the iconic helmet to sci-fi blasters and all the hard and soft parts in between. It's long build that goes down to the wire!
One of Adam's favorite cosplay costumes gets revamped and upgraded with an awesome animatronic feature! No-Face transforms into a hungry beast with a massive mechanized mouth, a build which ends up being much more complicated that planned. Shop assistants Jen and Mel also take on the task of fabricating foam props for No-Face to eat. This cosplay build ended up being quite a journey!
This week's One Day Build is all about space cameras! Adam shows off a few of his favorite vintage cameras and camera replicas from NASA missions, and collaborates with fellow space obsessive Anthony Kovacs to make a shroud for the venerated Nikon F3. It's a day of cut and sew to make a beautiful replica camera thermal cover, just like the beta cloth ones used by Space Shuttle astronauts!
Adam's latest obsession is the VR music rhythm game Beat Saber, which he plays almost every day. To augment his immersion and play ability, Adam machines a pair of Beat Saber hilt mounts for the Oculus Quest controllers! And of course, making lightsaber hilts is something Adam has some experience with!
Adam revamps the hardware storage system for his workshop by building a new custom wall of storage bins! Nuts, bolts, and all manner of hardware now live in this new sorter system that rolls perfectly into its new home in the cave. Happy sorting!
Happy new year! We kick off 2020 with a new One Day Build from Adam's cave. Adam's making a gaslamp-inspired lantern using to coincide with a future project, and the lighting and electronics are something you can follow along to apply to your own builds!
Adam adds to his shop infrastructure with a build for one of his new favorite tools: a USB-powered soldering iron. This compact mobile soldering station carries everything Adam needs for simple wire soldering work, and is designed around his own usage patterns and procedures!
Adam helps out his friend, writer Amber Ruffin, who recently tweeted a photo of her couch leg replaced with a can of kidney beans. To help give her couch some support, Adam replicates that can out of a piece of poplar wood, making use of some of his favorite woodworking tools in the shop. The replica looks pretty convincing!
When you marry Adam Savage's mission to explore Spot's skill set with his longstanding desire to build a rickshaw, you get... well, THIS. Note: Adam was SO excited to build this carriage, he worked on it nights and weekends, but happily captured what we couldn't in time-lapse.
One of Adam's favorite objects in the cave is his life-size T-Rex skull, which hangs above the shop's pool table. He's long wanted to hide a fitted lamp inside that skull, which is today's One Day Build! This project falls into the category of quick and dirty builds that allows Adam to work fast and cut a few corners to get the results he wants as efficiently as possible!
Adam has previously shown his replica poker chips set from the movie Rounders, and now he needs a proper poker table as well. This One Day Build is just that: a custom poker table that fits atop the circular podcast table in the cave! Making this 47-inch diameter table has Adam bringing out a bunch of power tools in the shop, cutting the wood in interesting ways to get this distinct form.
Adam makes use of his new soldering station setup in this assembly of a beautiful Star Wars Thermal Detonator replica prop kit from KR Sabers/One Replicas. Not only is it a beautiful chrome metal kit, but it's designed to work with an intricate electronics system for lights and sound effects! Adam has a blast putting it together and problem-solving through the process!
One of Adam's longstanding cosplay goals is finding a way to stay cool under his costumes while wearing them all day. He's tried a variety of cool suits and hacked-togethered water-circulation units, and today he enlists the help of engineer and scientist Kipp Bradford to build a compact refrigeration system that he can wear. In fact, the system they build is a replica of the cooling unit in the spacesuit simulator used in NASA's HI-SEAS experiment!
One of Adam's favorite things to build are boxes to store and celebrate the objects and artifacts he collects in his workshop. Today, he walks you through how to build a simple box of your own in his distinctive style, in this case to house a pair of Apollo spacesuit glove replicas. Follow along and show us the boxes you make during in your own workshops!
Adam assembles the newest LEGO Ideas set: a spectacular model of the International Space Station! Follow along as Adam knolls, sorts, and pieces together the many recognizable modules and accessories (including the CanadaArm2 and mini Shuttle) of the ISS model, and shares some of his favorite custom minifigs from his personal collection as well! What kits have you been building lately?
Just because Adam is under lockdown, doesn't mean he's stopped building! In fact, quite the contrary: Adam is busier than ever working on new builds and shop improvement projects. This is the first in a series of One Day Builds that Adam has filmed himself from the cave, upgrading the infrastructure around his lathe by organizing his many chucks and live centers. It's a fun woodworking project that takes his mobile camera rig all around the workshop--hope you enjoy it!
Adam catches up on the Eaglemoss Ghostbusters Ecto-1 model kit with the intricate engine assembly. In this condensed build update, he guides us through his painting and weathering process, using a mix of oil washes and rub-n-buff wax highlights to make this scale model look like a beat-up and grimy piece of 50s machinery!
Adam uses the time he has during quarantine to finish up a kit he's been working on for over a year: a die filing machine. It's a tool Adam learned about watching Clickspring, and the kit requires machining and finishing beautiful cast pieces as well as mounting it to a motor and stand. Let's follow along as Adam builds and pieces together all the supporting parts for this machine and adds a new tool to the workshop!
Adam puts his new die filer to use in today's One Day Build of a small thwacker hammer! Starting with a beautiful piece of koa wood for handle and brass for the head, Adam works around the shop using his table saw, lathe, and mill, all producing wonderful shop sounds. But this is also a build that doesn't require heavy machinery, and could be done with hand tools. Let's watch this lovely little thwacker come together!
Adam's latest shop improvement project is all about his table saw! In his near-daily use of this tool, Adam has found inefficiencies and annoyances in the way he adjusts the height and angle of the saw, so he's swapping out the handwheels for new ones that better fit his workflow. It's maintenance he finally has time for, and even little things like giving his table saw handles better hand feel and control means he can better make things with it!
Adam pushes his woodworking comfort zone a little bit with today's build: a sword rack for his home office to display his favorite hero and replica swords from his collection! The design of this sword rack is framed around one of Adam's favorite movie posters to give it a unqiue presentation. Let's see which of Adam's swords make the cut for this display piece!
Hang out with Adam in the cave as he embarks on a One Day Repair of his favorite vintage Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses! The repair requires precision soldering of minuscule parts, and many of Adam's favorite shop tools make an appearance in the process. It's a project that gets derailed at every turn--count the number of times things go wrong!
Adam takes on a bit of shop infrastructure this week to tackle the inefficiencies of lithium-ion battery chargers. Specifically, he needs a charging rack that can store, charge, and organize the cave's set of 3.7V li-ion cells--the kind used for high-powered flashlights and other electronics. Adam builds a portable gang charger that can power eight batteries at once from a single power supply--a simple build you can do at home too!
Adam makes a replica of one of NASA's classic lunar experiments: a laser ranging retroreflector left on the Moon that are used for precise measurement of the orbit and orientation of the Moon relative to Earth. It's a model that makes use of off-the-shelf prisms that mirrors light directly back to its point source, like the mirrors on road markers or bicycles. This replica is of the kind of retroreflector array NASA is sending with current Mars missions. And for this quick build, we see the debut of some tools like the sheet metal nibbler and unibit!
Adam's been doing a lot of builds during the lockdown, which has been very relaxing and stabilizing. And in this video, he takes on a longer-term organization project: sorting and building a storage system for his massive collection of LEGO! It's a walk down memory lane for Adam's decades-long relationship with building LEGO, and not an easy challenge to tackle. Thankfully Adam's Mom is here to help out! What are your own strategies for sorting LEGO pieces?
This week, he assembles a custom LEGO set from Ichiban Toys (http://www.ichibantoys.com/ ): Quint's boat Orca from Jaws! Grab a seat, it's time for knolling and storytelling!
In this tale from the cave, Adam recaps a recent weekend project: rebuilding his lathe's three-jaw chuck as part of an ongoing process to maintain, restore, upgrade, and organize his workshop toolset. Let's hear him evaluate his process disassembling and cleaning the lathe chuck as shown through timelapses Adam filmed and close-ups to the reassembled part. Let's chill and watch Adam get to work!
Adam makes a modification to a corded portable bandsaw to make something he's always wanted in his shop: a tabletop mini bandsaw! To make this mini bandsaw stand, Adam machines an aluminum plate to mount on a custom wood frame that will house the portaband, as well as a satisfying power switch and perfectly-fitted brass insert. Follow along the project from its cardboard prototype to gratifying completion!
Adam continues work on his portaband conversion into a mini tabletop bandsaw with his solution for a speed control system that taps into the portable bandsaw's existing trigger controller.
Adam gives a tour of his personal office inside his workshop in this One Day Build project to build a custom window into his office door. It's a shop improvement project that breathes new life into this aged door that's had all manner of stuff nailed to it over the years. It's also a chance for Adam to test a new tool he's never used before: an oscillating multitool!
Adam recently received a set of screws that are so small he can't see them with the naked eye. So to examine them, he takes out his high-powered inspection microscope and spends the day disassembling and upgrading it with a fiber optic ring light!
In this special One Day Build filmed earlier this year, mathematician Matt Parker visits the cave to build a rhombic dodecahedron with Adam! Be prepared for lots of fun geometry discussion as Adam and Matt try to make abstract math concepts tangible with a physical build. They also take this construction a few steps further by lining the inside of the polyhedron with mirrors and LED strips for an infinty mirrored effect!
Adam recently learned the joys of machining scrap cast iron, and embarked on the challenging of repurposing a chunk found in the cave into a mini machine vise! It's a weekend build that he documented through timelapse and silent footage, so Adam reflects on that relaxing and satisfying work in narrated commentary. This mini machine vise ends up being an essential component of a more ambitious project that you'll see soon in a future One Day Build!
Once Adam finished making his mini bandsaw, he was inspired to try his hand at making more custom tools and developing his own machining skills. The mini machine vise he previously made finds its home in an awesome mini chop saw, which actually takes Adam a whole week to design, sketch, and build piece by piece. After a huge amount of trial and error, Adam is so pleased with the finished build--it might be his favorite One Day Build ever!
This weekend build takes on something that's been bothering Adam for a while: the stability of his workbench. So in order to pay it forward for all future One Day Builds, Adam takes apart his workbench and rebuilds it to his satisfaction. The project takes a few detours as Adam has to contend with welder issues, so it's not a build that goes as originally planned!
Adam's latest build is a new tool to aid in his quest for precision in his machining and other shop work! It's called a stitching pony by leatherworkers and is essentially a large third hand for holding onto raw materials or parts while he works on them. And Adam has come up with a way to make his stitching pony quick to release, tighten, and operate!
Adam's latest weekend build is a piece of furniture for his home--an integrated front porch table to help organize all the shoes, outdoor gear, and pet paraphernalia that lives in Adam's home foyer. And it's going to be a surprise for his partner--so it's one of the more finished and polished builds Adam takes on during the lockdown!
During the stay-at-home order, Adam has been spending a lot of time fine-tuning and using his lathe and milling machine. In this shop infrastructure build, he adjusts and modifies his material storage related to those two key shop tools!
To assist in his hobby of bird watching and wildlife obervation, Adam constructs a portable audio recording rig composted of a shotgun microphone, digital audio recorder, and custom carved wood handle! It's a beautiful assembly that's also perfectly balanced for handheld or tripod use!
In this one day speed build, Adam designs and constructs a storage rack for his collection of headphones to hang in his workshop office. It's one of Adam's fastest builds as we follow along in near real-time!
Adam can't get enough of the VR game Pistol Whip (aka leg day for working out in VR) and builds a custom machined aluminum mount for his Oculus Quest controller to add some heft to the gameplay. It's also a chance for Adam to apply acid etching to metal, and Adam enlists Jen Schacter's help in cutting out the vinyl mask for that process.
Adam tackles the disorganized mess of air tools stuffed into his shop tool chests, building custom foam core sorters for organizing and storing the tools. Adam guides us through the step-by-step process and tips to building this kind of sorter, which can be used for any kind of tool or gear storage.
Adam builds a piece of production equipment to assist with his self-filmed One Day Builds and other videos while we're working remotely. It's a classic production slate to help identify shots, sync audio, and is just fun to use! It also allows Adam to repurpose a variety of shop materials and make use of his tabletop bandsaw--using mini tools to make a mini clapperboard!
This weekend build is a speedy one: Adam recently saw the need to improve the display stands for his spacesuits in the workshop, so they both look better displayed as well as are easier to work on while standing up. It's a build that'll require modifying a foam mannequin with a welded stand, and makes use of an effective self-leveling laser tool!
Adam expands his machining skills in today's One Day Build by attempting to machine a giant bolt and nut out of a chunk of brass. It's a thorough test of Adam's abilities working with his lathe and precision machining, as the two comically large parts have to fit in the end!
After his build of the giant brass bolt and nut, Adam takes apart his lathe to repair and rebuild its tailstock. Adam explains how each of the lathe's components work, and then embarks on putting the tailstock back together with newly machined parts for increased accuracy and reliability. To the welder!
As Adam is using his lathe more these days, he's also upgrading it with new accessories like additional lathe collet chucks. And to store these massive steel parts, Adam makes a rolling rack stand that can hold all of his chucks for quick access and cleaning. It's Adam's first One Day Build using sheets of 1-inch plywood, and a construction that comes together with just tabs and slots!
Adam upgrades his shop's powermatic drill press with a crank to raise and lower the table, but the crank he has isn't made for his particular model drill press. The restoration and install of the crank goes by fast and works out well, but it ends in the unexpected breaking of another part. Adam's plan for an upgrade quickly pivot to a disassembly and repair!
Adam helps out actor Gary Oldman with one of his hobbies in this week's build! Gary is an avid photographer, and practices the craft of wet plate photography. For that tintype process, he needed a way to mount his large glass photo plates to clean and prep. Adam builds and sends Gary a custom clamp for that purpose and we get to see the unboxing!
Adam's been using his lathe a lot more recently while improving his machining skills, and has refined his workflow and toolset ecosystem around the machine. And to help him better retrieve the machining tools and accessories he wants in a timely way, Adam is going to build a machinist's toolbox to store everything from flat and thread cutters to steel blanks and boring bars. And surprisingly, it's the first of this kind of storage drawer he's made as a One Day Build!
Adam takes on a fun prop project using one of his old go-to materials for builds: large sheets of insulation foam! This carvable, sandable, and paintable material is great for creating all sorts of large volume props, like the replica of a vintage cast-iron safe Adam is building today!
Adam's been so proud of some of his recent projects that he's affixing brass labels to them engraved and stamped with the build date and his signature. But his collection of metal letter stamps is all over the place, so it's time to build a holder and storter for them! The approach to this build is an example of Adam's philosophy of optimal organizational strategy for both storage and ease of use, as well as futureproofing for future additions to the tool collection!
Adam makes his ideal workshop apron from scratch in today's build, after having recently discovered the joys of working with a shop apron in the cave. Made of leather and waxed canvas, this apron addresses all of Adam's tool carrying needs with streamlined pocket arrangements, durable straps, and is fitted for his own body. Follow along to learn how you can pattern and sew your own apron, and we'd love to see how you carry your tools while working in your own shops!
Adam makes an aesthetic upgrade to his Captain America Winter Soldier shield replica, which involves an aluminum cutting technique he learned in his early BattleBots fabrication days! Follow along as Adam uses a router and template to carve a large ring of aluminum--a quick and efficient solution to a large piece of metal cutting!
For his wife's birthday, Adam makes from scratch a brass watering can for tending to their succulent garden! It's going to involve a wide range of brass working techniques to piece it together from raw sheets and tubes, from the engineering of the form to the machining and soldering of parts together to make it actually functional. And by the end, it becomes a beautiful bespoke gardening tool!
Adam shows you how to make a tapping guide block to help make perfectly aligned screw and bolt threads reliably and with ease. It's a handy accompaniment to the tap set you may have in your own shops, and something that may save you from breaking taps or bolts in the future. Adam dives into the ins and outs of thread tapping, common pitfalls, and his favorite tips and techniques for using these essential tools!
Adam welcomes a new sewing machine into his workshop--a powerful Sailrite LSZ-1--by building out a custom table setup for it to include organizational drawers and rolling casters. It's an upgrade based on the workflow Adam developed for his previous sewing station, and Adam breaks in the new machine by making a heavy duty canvas dust cover for it!
Adam's workshop organization project today involves creating a perfectly-fitted storage platform for his wood planer and orbital spindle sander. These are tools that are used infrequently in the shop, but still need to be easily accessed and stored--and Adam found the perfect place for them under his table saw. Additionally, Adam modifies his planer to work with his shop's dust collector by making a magnetically attached hose adapter!
For an upcoming road trip, Adam will be joined by his dog Maggie, who is a delightful travel companion. To help her better enjoy the long drive, Adam makes a custom fitted dog bed platform that fits over the folded seat of his car! It's a build that begins with cardboard prototyping and transforms sheets of plywood into a beautifully bolstered doggie bed!
Adam spends the day fixing and upgrading his Powermatic 66 table saw with a new table saw fence system. The table saw is equipped with an Accu-Fence, but its sides were damaged in recent use. Adam replaces those sides with a beautiful set found online, and even got some tips to install them direct from the manufacturer! Keep an eye out for a cameo appearance of a Scottish soda sent in from a fan, complete with kilt bottle cozy!
Adam's been wanting to build this kit for years: a decal set that allows him to make a 1/10 scale shipping container like the 40-foot ones that move freight around the world on massive container ships. Adam's scaled-down version will be four feet long, and make for an awesome bench and storage box in the workshop. And of course it sits on casters!
Adam celebrates his fandom for The Mandalorian with a build of the new LEGO set of The Razor Crest ship from the show! And keeping watch during the build is Adam's new Mandalorian helmet replica, built off scans of the original prop. Plus, in a first for Adam, he's going to take on this build without knolling the pieces! Shocking!
Adam's latest long-term project comes to fruition in the form of the Good Samaritan sidearm--Hellboy's iconic sidearm from the films. It's taken all of his machining skills and more to scratch build this revolver prop from chunks of aluminum, and Adam has documented the journey in this new series of One Day Builds. In this first part, Adam tackles the oversized barrel and top rail. Thankfully, Adam has some great reference material and sources. Let's get started!
Adam embarks on a build of the Ghostbusters Ecto Goggles prop, an essential part of his Ghostbusters cosplay. And to create the rare night-vision goggle eyepiece, Adam turns to vacuum forming and carves an accurate buck of the frame. But when Adam's vacuum forming machine breaks down, Adam switches gears and rebuilds his vacuum former to restore this long-running tool to its former glory!
Adam pushes the limits of his machining skills as he moves onto the next part of his Hellboy Samaritan prop replica build. In making the closure latch of the Good Samaritan, he has to make something that's not only aesthetically accurate, but functions as a working mechanism as well. It's going to require some precise engineering!
Many viewers have asked about the giant Swiss Army Knife replica that lives above the lathe in Adam's shop, and Adam takes this display down to the workbench to show you exactly what it is and how it works. And while it's disassembled, Adam spends the day making a replacement blade to restore this prop to its full multi-bladed glory. Be prepared for some fun maths!
As Adam nears the finish for his build of his scratch-built Hellboy Samaritan prop replica, he turns to the finer details of the grip and the bronze hammer. Along the way, there are decisions about the materials used that allow Adam to contribute to the mythology behind the prop, based on his interpretation of the reference sources. Adam also shows a big mistake he made in this build, and what it took to fix it. The Samaritan is getting close to completion!
Adam has been showing off his collection of drafting tools, including angle finders and circle drawing templates. It made him realize he needed a better sorting and storage solution to keep these tools in good condition and still be easily accessible when he needed them. Today's build addresses that: a workbench-mounted flat drawer that organizes and knolls out these beautiful tools. And of course, it's going to be made out of hot glued foamcore!
At the beginning of lockdown, one of Adam's first infrastructure projects was building a storage rack for his collection of staplers and nailers. That storage system gets completed today with custom organizer and sorter for 31 different types of staples that Adam keeps in rotation. This slot and tab build is one of Adam's favorite types of assemblies, and it's capped off with some very satisfying labeling!
With his new Sailrite LSZ-1 sewing machine set up in the shop, Adam breaks it in with a quick weekend build: sewing a new chair cover for an old chair frame. It's a very approachable type of a project involving transferring the pattern of the old chair cover to a new sturdier and weatherproof material, which the Sailrite sews with ease. The power of this sewing machine makes Adam so excited for its use for future projects!
With Adam's replica of the Hellboy Samaritan prop mostly completed, Adam turns his attention to replicating the large bullet props that would go in the chamber. It's a machining exercise that calls upon the use of a custom profile tool to shape the aluminum, and then pair with a brass casing--all made on the lathe. As a finishing touch, Adam sends his pieces to collaborator Victor Broadley, who uses an amazing vintage toolmaker's mill to etch the proper labeling to match these props in the Hellboy universe!
For Halloween this year, Adam and his wife decided to cosplay together as Chewbacca and Han Solo! And to make Adam's Han Solo costume work for Mrs. Dontrythis, he embarks on making a new holster belt from scratch. It's Adam's favorite film holster, and he transfers his familiarity with the original to leatherworking and machining the accessories and greeblies of this iconic piece of Star Wars costuming!
This week's build is actually a how-to project! Adam's had the idea for making a wooden sword out of just five dollars of materials since his theater shop days, and shows you the step by step process of building this inexpensive but satisfying prop. It's a build that can be done with any combination of materials, tools, and adhesives, and makes use of some of Adam's favorite propmaking techniques!
Today's build is all about the humble Apple Box, the ubiquitous piece of production gear found on almost every television and film set. Adam shares some of the lessons he's learned from his decades of experience working on production sets, and walks through the step by step process of making a standard 20x12x8" apple box from scratch. This is the kind of project that makes a wonderful gift for the aspiring filmmaker in your life!
Adam is smitten by Sideshow Collectible's life-size replica of The Child (aka Baby Yoda), and makes the figure even more awesome by modifying it to add posable arms and applying more weathering to the cloak! Follow along this deconstruction of collectible manufacturing and paint application. This project also allows Adam to test Iwata's dual action airbrush, which has been highly recommended in the effects shops we've visited!
Even though Adam's build of the Hellboy Samaritan prop replica is yet to be completed, the project is at a point where he wants to properly store and display the piece in a carrying case appropriate to the universe of Hellboy. We know how much Adam loves making in-universe boxes, and the Samaritan goes through this rite of passage as Adam paints, weathers, and creates a stenciled logo for the case that his Samaritan will live in between upgrades and additional work!
The next stage of Adam's Hellboy Samaritan replica build is to make an accessory...for the accessories! To showcase the handcrafted prop rounds that were recently machined, Adam turns to making a leather bandolier belt of his own design, though inspired by a licensed replica of the movie prop belt. Time to break out Adam's beautiful leatherworking toolkit and make use of a new tool: the leather strap cutter. Plus, Adam gets to weathering and tarnishing the brass shells with a tried and true aging technique!
Time to make a laser sword hilt! Adam takes a cylinder of aluminum stock and walks us through how he machined his first replica of Luke's lightsaber from Return of the Jedi. In the spirit of revisiting his early propmaking efforts, Adam only uses one found photo for reference and explains how to extrapolate details from an image to usable measurements for propmaking. It's a build that goes through some unexpected turns, and ends up being a different One Day Build journey than Adam intended!
For Halloween this year, Adam needed a bowcaster replica for his Chewbacca costume, so it was time to put this prop together using parts and pieces he had sourced and uncovered over the years of researching this prop. It's a comfort build Adam originally intended to do just for himself, so its accuracy to any specific film is less important than the experience of putting it together and using it for cosplay!
Today's One Day Build is a workshop infrastructure improvement, creating storage and organizational spaces for the numerous sticks that Adam uses in his every day building. These include things like tongue depressors, skewers, acid brushes, and swabs that are used for everything from mixing epoxy to holding up model kit parts to prime and paint. And like every other shop infrastructure build, it requires some introspection as to how Adam thinks about and uses these tools.
At this point of Adam's Hellboy Samaritan replica prop build, it's time to take stock of all the parts he's machined so far in an old fashioned teardown video! Adam's disassembly (and subsequent reassembly) of the Samaritan's over one hundred constituent pieces--requiring custom tools and careful organization--gives us a sense of the complexity of this build and the journey so far in making all of it from scratch. Oh yes, there will be knolling.
The latest update to Adam's Hellboy Samaritan replica project harkens back to his very first Tested One Day Build: constructing a bespoke carrying case for this prop and its accessories. Based on research gathered about vintage storage cases of this style, Adam shows his process of mapping out the parts dividers, laying out the individual storage sections, and lining them with beautiful green felt. Plus, the whole thing gets weathered with an airbrush pass at the end. Sit back and enjoy this relaxing build!
Adam digs up an incomplete Iron Man Mark I armor costume out of his shop's deep storage and gets to work building out this suit and getting wear at a future convention. This replica was nicely sculpted and cast, and is a great base for Adam's upgrades, including adding a light-up arc reactor and mechanized magneto generator prop in the back of the suit! It's a lot of fun scratch building and kitbashing of parts to make it look like something Tony Stark would've made in the film! (Stick to the end for a bonus mini-build too!)
Chewbacca isn't just Adam's favorite Star Wars alien, but it's also one of his favorite costumes to wear at conventions and for Halloween. After over 10 years of wearing this Chewbacca costume, Adam begins the process of updating and rebuilding its parts, starting with Chewie's feet. It's a process to foam sculpting that brings out Adam's hot wire cutter, his favorite high-strength tape, and a lot of hot glue. And after the feet are fabricated, it's time to give Chewie a weathering pedicure!
Adam's back with more projects with Boston Dynamics' Spot robot! In this One Day Build, Adam explores changes to Spot's physical form by building a variety of cardboard mounts and attachments to morph its silhouette and change how we perceive the robot's personality. From extended neck attachments to toddler shoes worn over its rubber feet, Adam tests how little shifts in appearance dramatically change Spot's character!
Continuing his work on his Iron Man Mark I armor costume, Adam turns his focus to the helmet. The helmet that came with the costume is painted resin, but needs a new paint metallic paint job for better screen accuracy. It's a multi-stage application to give it a brilliant chrome finish which is then taken down with some oil paint weathering. Adam also builds out the inside of the helmet to line it with leather and make it not only wearable, but also functional with a flip-up face visor!
It's finally time for Adam to rebuild his workshop's electronics tool cart--a project he's put off all year. But starting with his soldering station he built earlier this year, Adam reassembles the cart to carry only the essential electronics gear and materials he knows he'll use most in his projects. It's tool reorganization as both therapy and a step toward efficiency--and highly satisfying on both counts!
When Adam received his new shop workbench, builder Andrew Klein incorporated his take on Adam's LED lamp lighting solution into the bench, attached using a strong Magswitch for durability and ease of adjustment. Adam still has the lamps from his previous workbench, and modifies them in this quick build to attach to Magswitches to give his new bench a few more lights! Your workspace can never have enough illumination!
Adam is super excited to install a new lathe chuck he bought to upgrade his shop's machine lathe--it's an adjustable six-jaw reversible chuck, which is a big step up from the chuck he had previously installed. Adam completely disassembles the piece to clean all of its parts and shows us how the self-centering jaws work, before greasing it up and installing the chuck for a test run!
Today's super quick build is an exercise in tool organization, but for Adam a new way about thinking about organization as well. As opposed to placing tools and materials in a place for ease of storage and access, Adam talks about rearranging a tool's appearance to streamline its use. Taking his mill's tightening wrench as the example, Adam cleans, masks, paints, and labels it in a way to mitigate visual ambiguity and optimize its place in his mental workflow.
Adam is well known for his love of armor, so he couldn't resist picking up this vintage miniature suit of armor--that also happen to be a working lighter! The condition that Adam bought it in is in dire need of repair and care, so today's build is a teardown of this mini suit to bring back its luster and get its fire feature working again!
Adam's latest machining project is a return to his Mercury spacesuit replica, his very first spacesuit replica project that keeps on getting improvements. Adam just upgraded the gloves on this suit with an amazing custom sewn pair, and turns to machining the distinct wrist coupler rings that connect them to the main suit. It's a painstaking process of turning a large round aluminum bar into hardware that looks right out of NASA's spacesuit shop.
Adam is back to finish his replica wrist connectors for his new Mercury spacesuit costume! After the arduous process of machining the glove rings in the first part, Adam gets to the fun of weathering the aluminum to look like real vintage NASA hardware. And for that, he brings out a new piece of equipment that he hasn't used for a build before--a rock tumbler for real wear and tear!
This weekend project has Adam taking apart his Powermatic drill press and lugging the entire machine to the center of the cave to switch out its table with a new one he bought online. But here's the catch: the new table's mount is just slightly narrower than the drill press's column can accommodate, so Adam needs to precisely mill out just enough steel to get it to fit. And not all goes according to plan...
Adam makes the iconic Leviathan Axe from the God of War games as a Christmas gift for his nephew! Using straightforward reference of the in-game axe found online, Adam scratch builds this replica prop out of sintra PVC foamboard for the axehead and carves a real wood handle. Including the paint and wood stain finish, it's a true One Day Build that takes just one day to complete from start to finish!
Adam drops some clamping knowledge in today's One Day Build that's all about improving the organization of his lathe's collet collection. Adam explains how the various collet formfactors work on his mill and lathe, lays out all of the collets in his shop on the workbench, and builds a storage system to have them at arm's reach when working at the lathe.
Adam reveals his surprise Christmas present for his wife--a set of custom-designed and built bedroom end tables! These cedar tables aren't just a woodworking exercise; they encapsulate all the aesthetic and functional design that Adam has wanted to put into this kind of furniture, including built-in lighting and power outlets. It's a multi-day journey to make the pair of tables in time for Christmas!
Adam tackles a shop shelf build that he's been putting off for a long time--finally reorganizing his loose wire storage that sits above his Sortimo hardware boxes. It's a chance for him to implement his philosophy for a storage system that houses and dispenses rolls of wire--that doesn't mount the spools along a dowel. As you'll see, it's a solution that's as elegant as it is satisfying!
One of the ways Adam has been getting through lockdown has been binging television shows, including Netflix's The Crown. And in the midst of his obsession with the show, Adam builds his own replica of the most important piece of The Crown Jewels: St Edward's Crown used for the coronation of British Monarch. Adam's replica is based on the stage prop made for the Hamilton musical, and will be the centerpiece for his King George costume!
Adam embarks on one of his most ambitious builds yet: fulfilling his lifelong dream of a wearable life-size velociraptor costume! With the help of the amazing designers and builders at character shop Animax Designs, Adam begins his raptor costume build in the cave with some materials experimentation and figuring out the movement of the tail. Follow about this epic journey that will take Adam cross country in a build that spans an entire month!
Adam's latest build taps into his love for Studio Ghibli films, a bit of modelmaking, and in-camera practical effects as he constructs a stunning display inspired by one of his favorite Miyazaki films. It's a slow burn of a build as Adam gradually reveals his sketched out plans; the result is a mesmerizing combination of light and movement that is beautiful to behold!
Adam's velociraptor costume starts to take form as he builds out the external frame and structure of the main torso. It's the week leading up to his trip cross-country to Animax Designs, and Adam scrambles to problem solve the balance of structure and weight for this costume. Thankfully, he has some experience building large character suits like his Totoro cosplay, and also finds a solution in a specialty textile called spacer mesh!
To aid in his machining projects, Adam recently picked up a full set of micrometer screw gauges--precision calibrated tools for measuring his machined parts and components. Today's One Day Build is a deep dive into how measurement affects machining processes and the ways to achieve ultra-precise measurement, and the customization of a beautiful wooden case to organize and hold all of these important gauges.
It's the final two days before Adam makes his drive to Animax Designs in Nashville with his velociraptor costume in tow, and there are some final components to build before it's ready for transport. First is the eye mechanism that goes inside the raptor's 3D-printed head that will allow Adam to control its blinking, which is no easy mechanical feat. And then there's the carving of the feet themselves that will be puppeted directly by Adam's own walking motions. We can see the dino almost snapping to life!
Adam has one final machining task to complete on his Hellboy Samaritan prop, and that's adding the interior rifling details of the replica's massive barrel. To accomplish that, Adam uses a custom tool called a broach, which needs to get precisely pushed through the barrel with a tremendous amount of force to make its cut. Adam has an idea of how to achieve that, and it's going to require quite a bit of elbow grease!
Adam adds a new vise to his workbench: a versatile Instrument Maker's Vise designed to grip flat or cylindrical workpieces at different precise angles. This vise is actually a kit from Hemingway, and putting it together becomes a machining adventure unto itself! But the journey is well worth it as Adam couldn't be happier with the finished kit and the machining lessons and experience he gained along this build!
It's about time: Adam revamps his shop's dust collection system by building a network of ducts for his various woodworking stations that feed to a Delta dust retriever that lives in the cave's loft. In the process, Adam demonstrates ways to make shop dust collection more efficient with automatic duct gates and even builds in a drop-down vacuum hose help make short work of shop clean-ups after future One Day Builds!
Adam sets up a new machine in the cave: a Formlabs Form 3L that's his first workshop 3D printer! To get it up and running, he builds a cart for the printer to live on with storage and workspace for processing the resin prints that come out of his large formfactor machine. And after running his first test print, Adam reveals his plans for putting the Form 3L through it paces with a prop and costume project he's working on this Spring!
Adam recently made a replica of the royal crown featured in the musical Hamilton and the show 'The Crown'--most famously the centerpiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. And upon finishing that build, Adam wanted to immediately try making it again using everything he learned in his first attempt. What follows is a rare One Day Build revisited where the second replica may look like the original at a glance, but done using new construction methods and finishing techniques that makes it so much better!
As Adam becomes more familiar with the post-processing workflow for his new Formlabs 3L 3D printer, he goes through the rite of passage for SLA 3D printer owners: building his own UV curing oven for finishing his resin print parts. It's a straightforward build that can be adapted for any size, and Adam goes big to make a parts curing station that can hold all the prints that come off of the Form 3L's large build plate! Follow along to make your own with the components list below!
Adam's next big costume project is a return to his build-up of his Iron Man Mark 1 armor! Previously, Adam reworked the costume's chest chassis and shoulder parts, and today he's tackling the legs and boots of the suit. Even though the castings are a good foundation to work off of, it's going to take a lot of modification and scratch building to get the armor ready for wear. Next up will be painting the whole thing!
The past year in lockdown has yielded so many new projects for Adam and the Tested team, but the Hellboy Samaritan prop replica is the one that encapsulates all of Adam's new machining learnings and adventures. That build is finally done, and Adam lays out all its pieces for a final assembly and weathering pass to show off its authentic black oxide finish. The prop exceeded all of Adam's expectations when he embarked on it, and has sparked new ideas for more replica builds from the Hellboy universe.
What is Adam's favorite part of making? The paint, of course! Wanting a beaten-up, shiny metal finish for his Iron Man Mark I suit, Adam applies a gloss black undercoat, adds liquid chrome, then seals it all with a clear coat. But the job's only half done; Adam needs to wait a week for the paint to cure before he can start weathering (which will be another One Day Build)!
Adam has a background in animation, so it's with great pleasure that he breaks out a flip-movie kit to make an animation machine! As he completes his galloping horse flipbook and adds a motor to automate the hand crank function, Adam reflects on the history of this analogue form of storytelling, and how it allowed humans to see the world in a way we'd never seen before.
Now that his Iron Man Mark I suit has been chrome painted and sealed, it's time for Adam to apply the washes that will tell the story of the armor's age and construction! Using acrylic-based paint, rubbing alcohol, water, rags and elbow grease over his lacquer base coat, Adam refines his technique to the point that he has finite control over his weathering. It's one of Adam's finest paint jobs to date, and he caps off his build by trying on the costume in full!
A perfect weekend project is this beautiful model kit: the Hyperdo from Zometools. Adam received one based on the recommendation of his good friend Kevin Kelly, and spends the day putting this complex geometric object together. It's a hyperdodecahedron--or more specifically the 3D projection of the 4D object known as the 120-cell. It's not a simple assembly, but the finished model is so very rewarding!
Adam heads over to the Tested studio to find enough space for a 2000-piece custom LEGO build of the Spinner car from Blade Runner! This model comes courtesy of BrickVault, who put together detailed instructions and parts lists for massive MOCs inspired by our favorite movies, games, and fandoms. Follow along as Adam puts this kit together and shows off the clever ways that fan designers have replicated this iconic vehicle.
While in a midst of a multi-week prop replica build, Adam takes a break from the long-term project to take on a more relaxing assembly: this intricate 4-cylinder car engine model kit. Made of diecast metal parts, this animated model is an elegant visual representation of how a four stroke engine works, and a nice project to get done in a single day!
Adam embarks on his first full prop replica project using his shop's new Form 3L 3D printer: a replica of the Amban "tuning fork" blaster as seen in The Mandalorian! It's an extensive build that's also mixed-material, combining 3D printed resin parts with carved wood and machined components as well, giving it a veracity not only in form but also weight and feel--as if it lives in the Star Wars universe. It's an essential prop for Adam's Mandalorian cosplay, and stay tuned for the paint application in the next build!
Adam often builds props just so he can paint and weather them, so this paint-up of his Mandalorian Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster replica has been a long time coming! With the mechanical construction completed--built from 3D-printed, machined, and hand carved parts--Adam preps and applies paint passes using screenshot and photo reference. It's also a chance to test a new chrome mirror paint that can be quickly brushed on the parts!
Adam makes use of one of his lifecasts to make a perfectly fitted skullcap for his Iron Man Mark I helmet. It'll require laying down epoxy fiberglass on top of the lifecast, padding it with neoprene, and then sewing a leather liner to give it a welding-jacket aesthetic that fits inside his Mark I's flip-up helmet. And keep an eye out for a special appearance by Adam's dog Maggie!
Adam has recently been binging and enjoying Netflix's The Crown, and builds a prop he imagines would fit in the show's portrayal of Buckingham Palace. In the show, Queen Elizabeth makes use of a buzzer to ring in guests and heads of state for meetings, so today's prop build is Adam's take on what that instrument would look like if he made it for the palace using technology from 100 years ago!
Adam adds a very special set of acrylic paints to his workshop: Archive-X's line of paints designed to exactly replicate the colors used in painting the studio scale models for Star Wars and other ILM modelshop projects. These are hues that are very familiar to Adam's sense memory of working at the ILM modelshop, and he spends today building a display and storage rack for this awesome collection.
Adam cuts, sews, and breathes life into this adorable hand and rod puppet using a kit from the team at @Monkey Boys Productions. This beginner kit includes the fur, fleece, and felt needed to fabricate a colorful monster puppet, with easy-to-follow instructions and plenty of room for customization!
Adam loves riding his OneWheel XR electric skateboard around the neighborhood, and makes modifications to his board to give it some attachable payload capacity as well as GoPro mounts to film his rides. The satchel he sews allows him to repurpose car airbag he rescued from a car in his MythBuster days, and the camera mounts will give us a sense of how smoothly the board glides up San Francisco's hills. And the modifications aren't completely without a custom charging stand to build as well!
It's been almost five years since Adam made his bear costume to walk through Comic-Con, and the suit is in dire need of repair, refit, and refurbishment. It's an opportunity for Adam to completely rebuild the one part that's never quite satisfied his original design--the bear's head. So it's time to get the bear suit out of storage and make a whole new headpiece for it, turning Adam's original sketch into a full-formed and fur-covered animatronic head!
Adam's obsession with historically significant gems dates back to his childhood, and he fulfills a lifelong curiosity by assembling this collection of famous diamonds and other gems from around the world (and from fantasy as well). Follow along as Adam goes through the process of figuring out the best way to display and experience this collection, and the resulting custom display box he builds for it.
Adam gets to work fixing a vintage Schoenhut toy piano that he recently picked up at auction that's in dire need of repair. In fact, it's going to take the disassembly of two broken pianos to make one working one, in addition to completely remaking the keys and restoring the metal harp. Let's take a look inside this classic children's toy and see if Adam can get it back to a tuned and playable state!
One of the biggest upgrades made to Adam's shop over the past year has been the addition of his new workbench, which was made by woodworker and engineer Andrew Klein. And as Adam has used this workbench's numerous features for his builds, he's come up with ideas of his own to make the bench work better for his needs. Today's upgrade is to the bench's vise, giving its handle better ergonomics and a design inspired by the handles on his mill.
Every time Adam needs to wrap his head around the layout of a building, he makes a scale model of the structure as an exercise to better understand the space. One such building is the Fab House community maker space in Cleveland, for which Adam is on the advisory board. Using digital renders and blueprints as reference, Adam recreates the four floors of the Fab House in a 1/24 scale architectural model form using trusty foam board, a craft knife, tape, and hot glue!
Today's build is the intersection of two of Adam's favorite things: and his collection of new hats, and the movie John Carpenter's The Thing! That's right: Adam is working on a MacReady costume inspired by Kurt Russell's iconic character, and it all begins with making an ultra-accurate replica of his distinct and ridiculous hat!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Excalibur Henchmen Armor!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Aliens Colonial Marines Shoulder Lamp!
Adam Savage's One Day Build: Fake Beard Wiring!
Adam Savage's One Day Build: Acrylic Display Box!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: 2001 Spacesuit Helmet Repair!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Hasbro Mandalorian Helmet Repaint!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Aliens Colonial Marines Armor!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Ghostbusters Proton Pack!
For the first time, we document the build of Adam's spacesuits in its entirety! Inspired by a next-generation xEMU design, Adam and his collaborators spent months building two spacesuit costumes worn in our short film "The Beacon"--celebrating the relaunch of the gaming network G4. To kick off this multi-part series, we jump back to the beginning of the summer as Adam begins the project in earnest, starting with the literal hard parts of the suit's frame and inner shell.
Adam had the opportunity to make a prop for the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife film! Based on the production team's design, Adam sculpted and made castings of a stylized Aztec Death Whistle that is featured in the new movie. And to work on the painting and weathering of this prop and its stunt castings, Adam recruited the help of his former co-host on MythBuster Jr. Allie Weber (@robotmakergirl on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok) to finish the project before heading to the Ghostbusters: Afterlife set to deliver them to director Jason Reitman!
Work continues apace on Adam's pair of xEMU-inspired spacesuits to celebrate the relaunch of the gaming network G4. One distinguishing feature of these suits are how you enter them--through a hinged backpack door. Adam spends this episode creating that backpack, which will also house the suit's ventilation and electrical systems, and builds the all-important spacesuit stand that will allow him to get in and out of the suit during test fittings!
Adam's xEMU-inspired spacesuit continues to take form! Now comes some of the real fun stuff--wiring the electrical systems for lights and sound, and making all of that functionality accessible from a custom control box mounted to the front of the suit. The proper helmets finally arrive as well, and getting them attached magnetically with a CNC-machined neckring couldn't be more satisfying!
We're at the final stretch of Adam's extensive build of two xEMU-inspired spacesuits that's consumed the latter of half of 2021. But with the suits sewn up and wired with electronics, it's time for a full pass of weathering to give them some real character and history. And to cap off this months-long project, Adam and G4's Kevin Pereira suit up in the completed spacesuits and test their mobility and dexterity in a friendly game of chess! The perfect opportunity for a photo shoot and lighting tests before heading off to make our short film!
Hang out with Adam as he spends this morning repairing the pot lid for his favorite rice cooker. This quick and dirty repair job turns the failed spot welding on his handle into something that will last for as long as Adam will use it. Planned obsolescence won't have its way today!
After Adam finished his epic spacesuits build this past summer, he decompressed from that months-long project with a return to his ongoing Ghostbusters costume improvements. And that meant resuming work on his lightweight wearable replica of the Ecto goggles he's building from scratch. It starts with painting and dressing his vacuum-formed shells and them outfitting them with hand machined knobs and lenses. Here's how Adam got this essential piece of Ghostbusters costuming ready for his incognito at New York Comic Con!
Perhaps the smallest EMU spacesuit in Adam's collection is this 1/4-scale Blitzway replica he purchased this past year--a remarkably detailed recreation of the iconic NASA spacesuits worn by astronauts on spacewalks outside the ISS. This magnificent mixed-media replica served as inspiration during Adam's own xEMU-inspired spacesuit build, and he recently built a custom compact display stand for it to live in the cave.
One of Adam's latest ongoing projects is a new hero sword, ground from a pre-made blank and finished using the techniques he learned from his time working under the tutelage of Weta Workshop's Peter Lyon. Today, Adam takes the blade he's ground and adds some real weathered patina to it, using a combination of his favorite rust remover and polish to give it the look of an ancient uncovered artifact.
Adam takes a break from making spacesuits to start another long-term prop replica project, this time collaborating with other propmakers in realizing a complex hand prop. Without giving away what this part is for, Adam embarks on machining two metal rings with precise notches and non-trivial milling operations. It's going to require a little bit of math, a healthy amount of cooling fluid, and plenty of relaxing time-lapses.
Adam's in a metrology state of mind this week as he sets out to organize his collection of machining gauge blocks and gauge pins, to be kept alongside his mill. That means it's time for another shop infrastructure build--the first of the new year!
Adam welcomes @Kyle Hill to the cave for the very special One Day Build collaboration! Kyle purchased one of the original MythBusters blueprints in the recent auction benefiting the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation, and brought this piece up to San Francisco to chat with Adam about its use on the show and to build a custom display for it!
This quickie One Day Build sees Adam tackling a minor issue he has with his shop's milling machine: its motor fan runs constantly and gets too loud. Instead of swapping it out for a different type of cooling system, Adam gets in touch with the mill's manufacturer and gets a way to reconfigure the fan's operation so that it only kicks in when the mill is actively used. Time to open up the mill's service panel and dig into its electronics!
Today's One Day Build is a blast from Adam's past: a recreation of a novel ping pong ball launcher that Adam made as part of an art show when he was in high school. Adam tells the story of how important this project was to him as a budding maker, and how its subsequent fate affected him. It's why Adam is compelled to rebuild that launcher today, using the same materials he used all those years ago. And it all starts with the disassembly of a vintage grocery store pricing labeler.
In his ongoing quest to "chase zeros" in machining, Adam upgrades his lathe chuck collection with a magnetic chuck--the first time Adam is using one in his shop. But before it can be used, this old magnetic chuck needs to be completely disassembled, cleaned, and restored. This gives Adam a chance to show us how it works and how it should be calibrated.
Adam shifts his focus this week to assembling and painting up a 3d-printed prop replica of the Fremen Sand Compactor from the recent Dune movie! This wonderfully modeled and printed resin prop comes together with a little bit of machining for alignment and glue, and Adam's paint finish gives it an appropriate amount of dusty weathering, fit for use on the sands of Arrakis!
Adam experiences cute overload when unboxing and checking out this miniature C-Stand from Matthews, and can't help but make a matching set of mini apple boxes to go along with it! It's a bit of scale-model woodworking that's made easy with the help of table saw and milling machine, but also a reminder to take the time with sanding your plywood to give even simple boxes a professional feel and finish.
As Adam levels up the precision of his machining, one of the tools he's using to measure the sizing of large parts is a granite surface plate. These massive reference plates are calibrated to be level to a high degree of precision, and as such need to be protected when not in use. So Adam spends the day making a custom surface plate protector and cover to slip perfectly over this piece of granite. A snug plywood blanket, if you will, for this important reference tool.
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: RoboCop 2's Cain Robot!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Weathering the Blaster Vault!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Painting The HasLab Razor Crest!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Blade Runner 2049 Helmet Parts!
Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Head-Mounted Dart Blaster!
Adam Savage's Live Builds: KiwiCo Articulated Desk Lamp!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Special Effects Syringe!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Drill Press Modifications!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: RoboCop 2's Cain Stop-Motion Puppet!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: James Bond's Spectre Cane!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Papier-Mâché Mask!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Inglourious Basterds Knife Replica!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: The Matrix EMP Switch!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Mandalorian Vibroblade Kit!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Razor Crest Mods, Part 1!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Moby Dick Diorama Maquette!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Aliens Welding Torch!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Adding Casters to Costume Cases!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Aliens Motion Tracker Prop!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Chinatown Stunt Knife (Corridor Crew FX Challenge!)
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Custom Poker Chip Carrier!
Adam Savage's Live Builds: KiwiCo Astronaut Starter Kit!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: AT-AT Walker Garage Kit!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Annular Cutter Storage!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Spacesuit Negative Pressure Chamber!
Adam Savage's One Day Build: Workbench Cubby Door!
Adam continues with his build of the incredible 1/48 scale AT-AT garage kit by building a diorama base for it inspired by the Battle of Hoth as seen in The Empire Strikes Back! From uneven snow-covered terrain to a crashed snowspeeder (with custom LED lights!), this base now holds the AT-AT firmly posed in place
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Flamethrower Prop from 'The Thing'!
Adam Savage's One Day Repairs: Vintage Lathe Drill Chuck!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Flat File Tool Storage Cabinet!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Machinist Tools Cabinet!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Nagra Recorder Handle Bar
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: LEGO Blade Runner Blaster!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Smartphone Camera Rig!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Model Paint Storage Racks!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Bourne Identity Bank Box!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Knurling Tool Storage!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Han in Carbonite!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Gandalf's Pipe!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Machining a Gear!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Portable Soldering Station Rebuild!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Kraft Paper Dispenser!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Hasbro Proton Pack Upgrades!
Adam Savage's One Day Build: Assassin's Sword!
Adam Savage's Assassin's Sword: Capstone Build
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Sword Scabbard!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Royal Sceptre!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Giant Flywheel Toy Car!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: First Order Retrievability Tool Cart!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: 'Alien' Cat Carrier Replica!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Repairing Adam's Cowboy Hats!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Foot Switch-Powered Shop Tools!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Laundry Folding Table!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Universal Tool Grinder Shop Stand!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: T-Handle Wrench!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: The Royal Orb!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Spin-A-Wheel Random Picker!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Workbench Quick Access Tools!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Setting Up The New Milling Machine!
Adam Savage's Hammer Is Garbage
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Digital Microscope Stand!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Savage Sortimo Storage Cabinet!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: AT-AT Walker Paint and Electronics!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Leaning Tower of Pisa Gag (with @ZachKing!)
Adam Savage Rebuilds His R2-D2 Astromech Feet!
Adam Savage Builds a Mannequin With Cosplayer Beverly Downen!
Why Adam Savage Made His Own Hand Clamp
The Star Wars Speeder Bike Reimagined!
This Small Shop Shelf Is So Satisfying!
Adam Savage Builds Isaac Newton's Death Mask Box!
Adam Savage Mods His Custom Lightsaber!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Shop Guitar!
This Object Should've Been Impossible to Make
Adam Savage Builds Mini Ghostbusters Proton Packs!
Adam Savage Loves This Old Box
Adam Savage Builds His 3D Print Farm!
Adam Savage Machines a Brass Bottle Cap!
Adam Savage's Biggest 3D Printer Yet!
Adam Savage Unboxes and Builds His New 3D Printer! (A Premium/Patron Preview)
Adam Savage Builds a REAL Starfield Starship!
Adam Savage's Pin Gauge Collection Goes Metric!
Adam Savage's STARFIELD Spaceship Model: Scratch-Building!
Why Adam Doesn't Say "Like and Subscribe"
Adam Savage's STARFIELD Spaceship Model: Nuts and Volts!
Adam Savage's STARFIELD Spaceship: Painting and Weathering!
Adam Savage Revamps Our Studio!
Adam Savage's STARFIELD Spaceship Model Completed!
Adam Savage Fixes a Squeaking Bed!
Adam Savage Makes a Lock From Scratch!
Adam Savage’s Ingenious Fractal Vise Mod!
Adam Savage Builds the Tested Office (in Foamcore)!
Adam Savage's Essential 3D Print Farm Upgrades!
Adam Savage Stumped by This Mystery Lathe Problem
Adam Savage Makes an Old Book From Scratch
Adam Savage's Weirdest One Day Build Yet!
Adam Savage's Bookshelf Lighting Solution!
Adam Savage's New Lathe Live Center Chuck
Adam Savage Builds a Box for His Dueling Pistol Replicas!
Adam Savage Makes a Perfect Kitchen Mallet!
Adam Savage's New Mini Watchmakers Lathe!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Mini Lathe Workstation!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Exploded Phone Sculpture!
Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Drawer Dividers!
During his Dec. 22, 2020, live stream, Adam did finishing work on a Beskar Ingot prop, which was sent courtesy of Khal from thesaberarmory.com and krsabers.com (who previously supplied the Thermal Detonator prop that Adam assembled in a ODB!). It's the perfect combination of two things we know Tested fans love: weathering and The Mandalorian series!
It's the night before Christmas, and Adam sneaks away to the shop for a quick repair job on his indoor Ugg boots! Yes, Adam loves these boots for wearing inside the house, and repairs the sole on one boot using trust barge cement. It's a quick fix-it job that's done in one single shot!
Adam recently acquired a Haimer gauge for his milling machine, which, unlike most machine tools, came to him boxless. Wanting to store the gauge with its collet in an easy-to-access and secure way, Adam knocks out a custom hinged box before diving into the rest of his Jan. 26 live stream!
